Beethoven lived in a time of revolution. The American Revolution began just after he was born and the French Revolution ignited when he was a coming-of-age 18-year-old.
Colors are something we see and music is something we hear but there are some whose senses combine in unrelated ways. They may taste colors or hear sounds in response to certain smells. It’s called synesthesia.
Scottish multi-percussionist Evelyn Glennie has been profoundly deaf since she was 12 years old. We asked her how someone who is deaf can "hear" with their whole body.
Beethoven’s teacher, Franz Josef Haydn, was eclipsed by the genius of his young student. Later, a young Johannes Brahms spent decades writing his first symphony because Beethoven’s legacy cast a really big shadow.
Former NPR host Robert Siegel is a big Beethoven fan. He especially loves the allegretto from Beethoven’s 7th symphony. Listen and read one of his all-time favorite NPR stories.